Idea to rename Skunk City raises stink

It's about a Syracuse neighborhood rising up to defend
its reputation.

We're talking about Skunk City, that feisty West End
enclave of 16 blocks between South Geddes Street and Velasko
Road that wears its blue collar proudly. Along with a chip
on its shoulder.

Recently, one of Skunk City's own - Ed McLaughlin of
Holden Street - threw out a challenge to his neighbors. Ed,
former city cop, former education commissioner, present bus
driver, wants to change the name of Skunk City. He thinks
the moniker, which goes back into the 19th century, is
"denigrating, belittling, ridiculing." Ed likes
"Area of Harbor Brook" a lot better.

There is another side and it's fit to be tied. Wild
guess: Ed's got a fight on his hands, moving this minor
mountain.

I say that after spending a delightful morning recently in
Shirley Humble's living room on Hartson Street, close
to the "heart of Skunk City," with seven longtime
neighbors who aren't happy with Ed's - aka
"Packy" McLaughlin's - idea.

"This will always be a Skunk City," according to
Shirley Humble, who lives with her daughter Cheryl and a
beloved dog, Morgan, in an 1898 house that traces back to
her kin, the Montgomerys. "We're proud of our
little area." She calls Skunk City, which is tucked
into the corner of the city next to Burnet Park, a hamlet.
Seriously. . . .

They are, besides Shirley, Katie Paige, Anne Schmidt and Ann Reynolds, as well as the Schwald brothers, Bill and Dennis, and Bill's son, Mark. Katie Paige wore a sweat shirt that clearly identified the heart of the neighborhood as Mahley's, a working man's saloon on Rowland Street that's had that honor since the 1930s, when the joint was called Merten's Grill. Merten sold to Fred Mahley....